Monday, October 28, 2013

Monster Mash!

I made this super yummy, sweet treat for my awesome neighbors. 




Monster Mash
Recipe Yields: 3 "family sized" bags or 12 small individual bags.
Monster Mash Time: 30 minutes (once the caramel is made)
3 bags of Simply Salted Microwave Popcorn
1 bag of Autumn Mix or Candy Corn
2 Bricks of Vanilla Almond Bark (in Orange if you can find it)
2 Bricks of Chocolate Almond Bark
1 Package of Monster Eye Candies (I found them at Target)
Parchment Paper
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Spread long strips of parchment paper on the counter or table. 
Pop the three bags of popcorn and spread them in a single layer on the parchment paper. Reduce the amount of time you pop each bag by at least 15 seconds because the microwave will already be hot. I kept each bag on its own piece of parchment to manage portion control.
I had a jar of salted caramel left over from my Dad's Best Birthday Cake Ever this weekend. Melt the caramel in the microwave if needed. 
Use a spatula to drizzle the caramel over the popcorn.
 Then sprinkle on the Autumn Mix Candy.
 Melt to chocolate according to instructions. (1 minute in the microwave.)
I tried to dye my white chocolate orange, but it changed the texture. It was thick like icing and wouldn't drizzle any more, so it wasn't very pretty. So you can leave it white if you need pretty drizzles.
Drizzle the white/orange chocolate over the candy and popcorn.
Since the chocolate was thin and beautiful, use a fork to drizzle it all over. 
 You could leave it like this, serve it in November, and call it Pilgrim Popcorn. 
Split the candy eye package into thirds.
To add the monster eyes, you will need a glob of chocolate to individually place each eye on. This is when the thick orange chocolate came in handy.
The chocolate will need to harden for a few hours in a cool place, or in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then bag up your treats, and share!